r/USLPRO • u/ThisGuyinCA99 AV Alta • Jun 02 '25
Championship USLC vs USL1: How Much of a Gap Is There?
This past weekend we saw another round of the Jägermeister Cup, where we saw a few matches where teams from the USL Championship and USL League One squared off against one another.
One good thing about having this Jägermeister Cup is that we get to see teams from each league face off against one another. Whereas before we would only see these teams meet each other infrequently in the US Open Cup.
I can’t help but see posts here where people wonder how a USL Championship team could lose to a USL1 team.
But one has to wonder; just how much of a gap between the teams in each league are in terms of performance? Because we’re probably learning through this Cup that this gap isn’t as wide as we originally thought.
What do you guys think?
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u/Frustrated_Grunt Charleston Battery Jun 02 '25
It's never perfect or really reliable, but the Transfermarkt eyeball test shows USL1 team values range from 1.5-3 million, while USLC is 3-6 million.
A decent gap, but compared to other countries divisions it's not gargantuan. And like others said, that gap lessens since teams are rotating rosters for the tournament.
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u/KingwasabiPea Louisville City FC Jun 02 '25
I wouldn't say it's a massive gap, but it isn't insignificant either. I kind of like that the best of USL1 is competitive with weaker USLC sides, and I hope when USL D1 starts that the stronger USLC teams will be able to compete with some of the weaker USL D 1 sides.
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u/Ok-Ranger3387 Jun 02 '25
I hope that isn't the case. D1 has to be of a higher caliber
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u/KingwasabiPea Louisville City FC Jun 03 '25
That's fair. I guess in my mind I would like to see USLC and by extension USL1 also improving in quality when USL D1 starts up with USL D1 being a clear step above. I would genuinely hate for the USL pro/rel system to have the same issue we're seeing with the premier league where the 3 promoted teams are immediately relegated.
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u/Ok-Ranger3387 Jun 03 '25
I agree . With the right investment, USL championship teams should have a fair shake. But for this to succeed, USL D1 (atleast the top teams) should have be a step too steep , initially . That way ,other teams have time to get their act together
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u/Spawn_More_Overlords Oakland Roots SC Jun 02 '25
Roots get battered by USLC teams and lose narrowly to League 1 teams so I’d say a modest gap.
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u/NYsummer14 Westchester SC Jun 02 '25
I think is smaller than one might assume. I have to think starting eleven guys in league one might be similar to depth players in the championship. League one does have some really good players, especially offensive.
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u/ThisGuyinCA99 AV Alta Jun 03 '25
I’m an AV Alta fan. The team has played against a USLC team four times already (one time in the Open Cup and three times in the Jägermeister Cup). The games felt very level. And while fans of USLC teams are telling me that their teams brought on players who usually are on the bench, from my observation it looked like their lineups looked no different from when they’re playing a regular USLC league game.
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u/Mediumofmediocrity Greenville Triumph SC Jun 02 '25
I agree with the comments thus far: I can see USLC teams not putting in their best lineup for the JC like USL1 teams didn’t always field theirs last year in it vs USL1 sides especially when a league match was coming up. Also, I don’t think it’s a huge gsm between leagues. I see players getting promoted to USLC and they aren’t head & shoulders better than teammates. Better, sure, but not massively better.
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u/Rvaisred Richmond Kickers Jun 02 '25
Top end guys on a Championship team are a level above, and Championship teams have better quality depth. I don't think there's a massive difference between players 7-13 or so, and we've seen plenty of guys go L1 -> C and do well, while also depth guys go from C -> L1 and are just depth guys there too.
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u/lipsquirrel Chattanooga Red Wolves Jun 02 '25
I think they're pretty close together during any particular game. It's over the course of a season where the differences become more obvious.
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u/holycitybox Charleston Battery Jun 02 '25
There is definitely a gap. You have to think this cup isn’t going to be the priority of most uslc teams and for that matter r usl1 teams. They want to focus in on the season and go for titles like the players shield or that division’s championship cup. Now factor in some of these teams and players are playing 34+ games in a season. These teams on both sides aren’t going to put their main rosters on the field when taking a loss or an injury in the Jäegermeister cup could jeopardize their entire season. Now if the stakes were high like a higher payout than what they would make winning their respective leagues. You would see how large of a gap there really is.
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u/Ok-Ranger3387 Jun 03 '25
USL teams don't get a payout from winning the league and the Jagermeister is the only tournament that has a payout associated to it. Plus, the jagermeister Cup has no effect on the USL regular season unless you advance onto the final stages. It would be absolutely silly for USL C teams to think they can Big-time USL one teams. They are both on very similar pay-brackets.
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u/holycitybox Charleston Battery Jun 03 '25
I know there is no pay out for winning. But it’s more prestigious to win your league and valuable than a jager cup and less risk adverse currently. That’s why I’m saying it has to worth it to for both sides and I don’t think it is quite there yet. And I do think some not all uslc teams could big arm a usl1 team. But there will always be outliers.
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u/Ok-Ranger3387 Jun 03 '25
Its a 6 figure payout and USL teams need money
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u/holycitybox Charleston Battery Jun 03 '25
Yeah it’s 100,000 at the end of the day that’s money that can be used to better any club. But I just don’t see the incentive being just worth it yet.
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u/BJ_Fantasy_Podcast New York Cosmos Jun 02 '25
I can’t help but see posts here where people wonder how a USL Championship team could lose to a USL1 team.
Are the posts in the room with us right now? Outside of the obvious troll posts from one user over the weekend I think anyone who actually pays attention realizes that the leagues are pretty close to each other competitively and it is more off the field stuff that separates them. The Open Cup is another example of how close the leagues are too.
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u/ThisGuyinCA99 AV Alta Jun 02 '25
It’s my observation from seeing posts made here. Keep in mind I take what gets said here with a grain of salt.
I wanted to say this in my original post but decided not to make it too long. My USL1 team has so far played against a USLC team four times already (one time in the Open Cup and three times in the Jägermeister Cup). The team would send out emails asking people to come out and support the team because it’s against a team in a higher division. But the games felt very level in terms of performance. I’m sure other USL1 teams have sent out similar emails to their fans.
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u/NJE_Murray United Soccer League Jun 02 '25
In a single game game, there's always the chance of an upset, as we've seen over the first two full weekends and the U.S. Open Cup.
In the bigger picture, the Charlotte Independence seem to have a shot at making it into the knockout stage, and so do one of the teams in Group 6 - FC Naples would probably be my pick for the favorite out of the three - but it's probably going to be tough for the others from here.
The consistency others talk about - can you do it for four games in a row - is what's getting tested here for the League One clubs.
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u/ThisGuyinCA99 AV Alta Jun 03 '25
I thought Naples would come out with the win against Miami FC. Even though they were the away team, I thought since they were still playing in south Florida, and that their traveling supporters would help them, that they would be able to pull it off.
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u/Thundering165 North Carolina FC Jun 02 '25
Soccer is an incredibly underdog friendly sport
USLC teams tend to rotate for these games.
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u/Ok-Ranger3387 Jun 02 '25
Charloston, Detroit, Hartford ,Tulsa got spanked while usl their regulars and USL C teams don't pay that much to make the gap mean something
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u/Pristine7531 Jun 03 '25 edited Jun 03 '25
The pay for the average USLC and USL1 player are closer than most people realize. The Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) for both leagues mandate the SAME minimum pay (about 30K, and which factors in room & board). The total roster cost for USLC and USL1 are also likewise closer than most realize, perhaps separated only by 300-500K higher for the average USLC team. Consequently, one would likewise expect the performance of USLC and USL1 to be fairly close. The USLC likely has deeper benches, as the extra roster budget can be splashed on better bench players.... (facilities tend to be better and there is less travel for USLC than USL1 (due to the East vs West Conference structure), so quality of life is better, too).
In contrast, the minimum MLS team roster cost is over $12 million, so TEN TIMES that of the average USLC team. Inter Miami's payroll is almost $45 million (20 million going to Messi), more than the entire USLC! On every MLS team, there are multiple designated players who individually make more than entire USLC rosters! This is also why the MLS dominates in the U.S. Open Cup, where the skill separation between MLS and USLC is more obvious (although NOT ALWAYS! And often only emerges late in the game, when the higher quality bench becomes pivotal!).
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u/ShartfordAthletic Jun 03 '25
It’s a modest but not insignificant gap. There are certainly starters in USL1 who could never be starters in USLC, but then again, there are players in USLC who don’t start, and moved down to USL1, and still don’t start.
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u/kingistic Jun 02 '25
The top teams in uslc are significantly better than league 1 on average at least louisville specifically. NMU, Charleston, Pittsburgh and San an are generally well rounded but not as consistent as louisville
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u/Ok-Ranger3387 Jun 03 '25
Guy, Louisville ain't shit to Rhode Island
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u/[deleted] Jun 02 '25
You don't typically get all first team players in these games.